Positioning means for vertically-arranged articles.



WYER.

CALLY ARRANGED ARTICLES.

D APR.22, 1916.

H. H. POSITIONING MEANS F APPLICAT 1,215,720.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

m/ Sr HM HOLLIS H. SAWYER, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

roslrroivnvc MEANS non VERTICALLY-ARRANGED AnrIcLns.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

Application filed. April 22, 1916. Serial No. 92,977.

To all whom z't-may concern:

Be it known that I, IIOLLIS I-I. SAWYER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Positioning Means forVertically-Arranged Articles, of which the following c.escription, inconnectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likecharacters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to means for controlling the position of articleswhich are kept or stored in a vertical position; such for example asindex cards, letter folders, etc., in the so-called vertical files. Theobject of my invention is to regulate the arrangement ofthe articles sothat they will not only present a more orderly appearance and will alsobe-more readily handled by the user so that a considerable saving oftime will result.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying draw-v ing showinganillustrative form of my 'device and wherein Figure l is a side view ofa file drawer embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross section thereof. In both Figs. 1 and 2 the proportionof parts has been somewhat exaggerated for clearness;

and

Fig. 3 is a part perspective, part section of a member used in theconstruction shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have there shown as an example of my invention arecord holder in the form of a drawer 1 of well known form adapted toreceive snugly letter folders or other records 2 which are set thereinon edge. The drawer 1 may be provided with the usual movable back piece3 which may be shifted to vary the effective depth of the drawer toaccommodate fewer or more folders 3 and holdthem approximately vertical.

In the use of filing devices such as described, it is necessary to allowthe records to have some freedom of movement in the drawer 1 to permitthem to be given a rearwardly slanting position that facilitates theexamination of matter on their faces. As the file is moved about, as,for example, when the drawer is drawn in and out, the records willcontinue to move on their own inertia after the holder itself stops. Theresult of this movement of the records has been that they have assumed aforwardly sloping position with their faces hidden. It is then veryinconvenient to examine some record in the fileand, if a back 3 is used,the temptation exists to release it togive room to tilt backward the rowof records behind the one tobe examined. To do so, however, onlyaggravates the defect until the file becomes vertical chiefly in name.My invention provides means to prevent this undesirable forward slopingof the records. I also am able to utilize the forces that produce it inthe ordinary file to obtain the opposite and desirable result of givingthe records a rearward slant. f r

I attain this resultby providing means for impeding what I may callspontaneous movement of the bottoms of the folders in theholder,that'is, movement not deliberately given them'by someperson.Preferablyalso I permit movement ofthe upper parts ofthe records so thatthey may swing where held and assume a proper slant. For

this purpose I may construct the surface ofthe holder at or near thebottom thereof to present projections a of low height relatively to thedimensions of the records themselves and engaging the lower portionsthereof.

In the embodiment of my invention chosen for illustration, I have formedthese projections a as suitable lugs (see Fig. 3) secured at intervalsto strips 5 of light metal, preferably pierced as at 6to receivefastening devices. One or more of these strips, two being shown in Fig.2, may be secured longitudinally on the bottom of the holder 1 or on thesides near the bottom. The form and size of these projections may bewidely varied, but I have obtained good results from lugs one sixteenthof an inch high, one quarter of an inch wide and spaced about threeinches apart. For clearness in illustration the size of theprojectionshas been exaggerated in Figs. 1 and 2, and I preferably would make themrelatively smaller in practice. I-prefer to make the projections quitesmall as the records can then be readily moved backward and forward inthe holder when it is desired to do so either by pushing them past theprojections or lifting them very slightly. My device is thus sharplydistinguished from those employing partitions which subdivide theholder. I retain the freedom for adjustment of the ordinary form of fileand attain control of the records without sacrifice of filing space andwithout hindrance to expangilon or contraction of the volume of recordsOf the exact nature of the physical forces involved in my invention I amnot fully advised and therefore I shall not attempt to explain theprecise theory of action. Tests have shown however, that not only arethe records prevented from falling forward with their faces down becausethe movement of their lower parts rearwardly in the holder is impededbut that they develop a swinging movement pivoting about the bottomedges, and automatically assume a rearward slant in the best positionfor examination by the user of the file. The result is a file moreorderly in appearance and wherein the records are so much moreaccessible that much time is saved the user.

I have described in considerable detail the embodiment of my inventionillustrated but, while the form shown is a practicably desirable one andreadily adapted for the reconstruction of files as now made, it will beunderstood that it is exemplary merely and that diiferent kinds ofattachment may be used or that the material of the bottom or sides ofthe holder may be so fashioned as to give the desired impediment to themovement of the letter folders or other records 2.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Furthermore, evidently the form of holder is not of the essence ofthe invention and my invention may be usefully applied in varioussituations where articles are kept in an upright position.

What I do claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent-is:

taneous movement in the receptacle of the lower parts of the records isprevented.

A receptacle for holding vertical rec ords having narrow strips the-reinsecured longitudinally thereto, said strips having projections ofrelatively low height formed to project between the records and spacedalong the strips to receive records between adjacent projections.

3. As a new article of manufacture a metal strip having provision forsecuring the same longitudinally in a receptacle for vertical recordsand having projections of low height spaced therealong.

In testimony whereof I have name to this specification.

HOLLIS I-I. SAWYER.

signed my Witness ROBERT H. KAMMLER.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

